Upon further review: 2009 Ohio State defense was better than the sum of its parts; can it be again in '10?

Neal C. Lauron / Columbus DispatchOSU's Doug Worthington led a charge of Buckeye defenders who were seemingly in constant assault on Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli in Ohio State's Rose Bowl victory on Jan. 1. Worthington will be gone in 2010, but the Bucks are determined to maintain their defensive strength.

LIVING ON DEFENSEHow Ohio State’s defense ranked compared to other top units in the nation in 2009.YARDS PER GAME1. TCU 239.72. Alabama 244.13. Texas 251.94. Florida 252.65. Ohio State 262.3

POINTS/GAME1. Nebraska 10.42. Alabama 11.73. Penn State 12.24. Florida 12.45. Ohio State 12.5COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Kurt Coleman has watched the Rose Bowl by now, looked in from the outside on the last game of his college career, watched what nearly 20 million television viewers saw live -- an Ohio State defense control one of the nation's most prolific offenses.

"I wouldn't call it extraordinary," the senior safety said this week of that defensive effort in a 26-17 win, holding Oregon 20 points and 164 yards below its season average. "But it was impressive."

That's not a bad description for a defense that finished the year fifth in the nation in both points and yards allowed.

From their coaches on down, the Buckeyes really stuck by the one-eleventh cliche this season -- do your part, nothing more and nothing less -- and adopted a no-name philosophy that in the end may have underestimated some of their individual skill.

It's both an appreciation of this season and a slight warning for next season that simply doing their jobs is what made this defense work. But it was doing their jobs together, and taking out a few key pieces in Coleman and defensive linemen Thaddeus Gibson and Doug Worthington will change the dynamic for a defense that was greater than the sum of its parts.

"This group's chemistry was very good," defensive co-coordinator Jim Heacock, who is loath to assess his defense while there are games left to played, said looking back this week. "I think we had some very good players on our unit, but I don't think we had anyone who wasn't good at their job."

The 2009 plan worked because of several realities, none of which will be automatically duplicated even by a defense returning seven starters in 2010, including All-American candidates in defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and linebacker Ross Homan:

• 1. With an experienced defensive line that went nine deep, and included several rare athletic skill sets in Heyward, Gibson and Worthington, the Buckeyes applied constant pressure and were flexible in the array of looks they could impose on an offense.

• 2. From the line through the linebackers to the secondary and from one to 11 on the field, there were no weak links, no areas Heacock and Luke Fickell had to mask in their scheme. From Gibson to linebackers Homan and Brian Rolle to safeties Coleman, Jermale Hines and Anderson Russell to corners Chimdi Chekwa and Devon Torrence, they all had speed and quickness, "maybe a little bit more than we've had here in the past," Heacock said.

• 3. Though without big names like James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, A.J. Hawk or Donte Whitner, the defense was probably more talented than most people realized. There won't be a first-round draft pick from this defense, unless Gibson blows up in off-season workouts. But looking back in a decade, this defense may have featured several players who will make NFL marks.

There is always someone up next at Ohio State, and underclass linemen John Simon and Garrett Goebel and safety Orhian Johnson will get their chances next season. The defense won't be trying to fill in for a single unique player, like Beanie Wells at running back or Ted Ginn Jr. at receiver.

But Coleman was a dynamo, a demolition derby type of safety who flew in against the run and made receivers and quarterbacks pay whenever the defensive line forced bad throws. Worthington's size as a lean, 6-6 tackle and Gibson's speed and agility on the edge aren't traits you duplicate with the snap of a finger.

This season, they all played the high-speed, yet disciplined, kind of football that comes only with experience.

"From the get-go, I think we were all ready to play and act as one," Coleman said.

It's one thing to say that. It's another to do. And another still to do it again next year.

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